This invention relates generally to gas purity testers or analyzers and, more particularly, to an argon purity tester which can be utilized in conjunction with an inert gas welding chamber.
As the need increases for lighter and/or stronger materials in areas such as aerospace construction, the joining together of these light weight materials, such as aluminum or titanium, has led to the increased use of inert gas welding. Unfortunately in the welding of titanium, for example, impurities found in the welding environment of argon can cause considerable damage to the weld formed in the material. An example of such an impurity is oxygen, the pressure of which in the argon can create cracks in the area of the weld.
During the welding procedure, testing of the welding environment is extremely difficult. In most instances it becomes necessary to completely shut down the operation of the welding chamber during the testing of the argon or other inert gas used in the welding operation. In other instances, to measure the purity of such inert gas welding systems, highly complex machinery must be utilized in order to detect impurities within the gas.
There arises a great need in inert gas welding field for a purity tester which is not only operable in combination with the welding system but which can also be used directly with the argon or inert gas cylinders and which is accurate, economical and high reliable during operation.